Ahoy Neil Rummy Rackers! 🙂 So…. Where are you from? How did it happen that you are now in Europe?
Ahoy! Lagerstein are a 7 piece drinking, pirate metal band hailing from Brisbane, Australia. We have stocked the ship with booze and will be partying through Europe until late November.
You are a member of Lagerstein. Can you tell us more about the style, history and releases? What is your role in the band?
Lagerstein was formed in 2010 with the sole purpose of creating the biggest party the world has never seen before. We sing about pirates, rum, beer and everything party related. We have 2 albums released and are currently touring our latest album “All For Rum & Rum For All” around Europe. We are a crew of 7 pirates. My duty is to maintain the rum levels on the Portside of the ship and to play guitar.
How big is Lagerstein in the Australian scene? How do your gigs there look like? How many ppl are usually coming to your gigs there?
The Australian scene is an interesting one and is growing every year. We have bands such as Ne Obliviscaris who are doing ground breaking things in the world of metal. Lagerstein are heavily involved in the Australian scene. We have completed numerous headline Australian tours and also run our own festival “Lagerfest” which always draws a large festival size crowd.
It´s not the first time you are touring in Europe. Could you tell us more about your previous trips? How long were they and how were they organized? Who was helping you here? How does it compare with your current tour?
In previous years, Lagerstein did a 16 show tour of Europe in 2013 supporting Alestorm (UK) and Ex Deo (CAN). It was amazing and really opened Lagerstein into the international metal scene. In 2014 we did a 19 show tour of the UK as main support for Alestorm’s Piratefest. This time we are doing headline shows and are touring for eight months. There is no better feeling than being on the other side of the world playing headline shows and seeing people singing and dancing along at the gigs.
This time you decided to leave Australia for eight long months. What does this mean for your lives back in Australia? How big of a change did it require? And how do you like it and feel in the current state? 🙂
It was a massive commitment! We have had the idea of doing an extended stay touring around Europe for a few years now and we are stoked that it is finally happening. We will return to Australia at the end of the year to complete another headline tour to finish off the year. We are loving the European lifestyle and the cheap beers! Everyday feels like a Saturday.
Do you expect to get as big of an audience in Europe as you have already achieved in Australia? You have already played some gigs since coming here – does the reality meet your intended target?
The shows have been insane so far on our European adventure! Many have blown our expectations massively. We have been touring Australia consistently for 6 years and built a strong fanbase. We hope that with consistent touring in Europe we can do the same. Partying in Europe is too much fun so we will always come back for more!
You got booked for some really cool festivals. Can you tell us more about them? Where could fans reach you, which ones are in your opinion the most worthy to visit?
We have been lucky to play some of the best festivals in the world during our trip. We started our tour in the UK at Hammerfest, which was stupidly fun. We also played in Spain at the HRH Road Trip festival, in the Czech Republic at the Zelesafest.and in Germany at the Darktroll Festival. Coming up we have Hörnerfest (GER) and a few others later in the year. Some really amazing bands playing at all these festivals.
How did you actually enjoy your very first Czech gig at Zelesafest?
Zelesafest was amazing! It is really fun to walk around a festival and say, „Ahoy!“ And everyone will say „Ahoy“ back. I like to think everyone in the Czech Republic is a pirate at heart. The show was great and the festival organisers were all legends. We would love to come back again!
How many countries are on your list for this tour? Do you enjoy this extreme traveling across Europe? 🙂
I’m not sure what the final count of countries is for this tour. But it is by far the most amount countries we have ever played in a year. Europe is nothing compared to touring in Australia. Everything is so close to each other. In Australia it very common to drive 12 hours or more for one gig.
During Lagerstein´s tour, you will also visit Czech Republic. When and where can Czech fans meet you?
We are stoked to be doing a number of shows in the Czech Republic this year. It is such a party country! Our upcoming Portside Party Tour dates are:
12/6 – CZ – Praha – Vagón klub (with Vintage Wine)
http://www.facebook.com/events/1298225103602123
13/6 – CZ – Plzeň – Šach Mat (with Sticx)
http://www.facebook.com/events/221698771665954
14/6 – SK – Bratislava – Randal (with Barbar Punk)
http://www.facebook.com/events/249272378881135
15/6 – CZ – Brno – Tenis Garden (with Barbar Punk)
http://www.facebook.com/events/225629464591614
16/6 – CZ – Olomouc – U Čerta (with Barbar Punk)
http://www.facebook.com/events/284179782028780
17/6 – CZ – Kroměříž – Pohoda u Bágráku (with Barbar Punk and others)
http://www.facebook.com/events/143975586143785
